The deep purple before darkness (the world beyond Death)
by Claude Amelia Song
Summary: There is a type of ghosts who are the people had crossed over into a new life, but who sometimes come back and look over the people they ey live in the purple of the sky, the deep purple that you can find just before darkness 's the world, beyond the door of Death. In special days, the clock ticks and they come out,a day like reopening of Weasley's wizarding Wheezes


**Mahoutokoro**

**Stand in year 7**

**Task** :_ Special Rule - you'll have to incorporate the animal you're given into your story. It can be symbolic, it can be literal, hell, you can even write a story from that animal's POV, but it has to be there._

**Pygmy Puffs** are miniature Puffskein, and are often described as cute little fluff-balls that roll around and squeak at regular intervals. Pygmy Puffs are actually illegal to breed, as they fall under the Ban on Experimental Breeding, despite their popularity among the youth. In this round, then, you'll be writing about something contradictory (because why would you ban Pygmy Puffs? They're cute and fluffy and awesome). A cognitive dissonance, maybe, or two controversial laws that cannot exist together yet somehow they do, somebody doing something uncharacteristic… Go wild and make sure you confuse us!

**Main prompt :** 1\. [colour] purple

**Optional Prompts:**

5\. [object] a grandfather clock

7\. [setting] Diagon Alley

**Author's note:**

**This story is written for the Japanese School of Magic from IWSC. Dedicated to my dear friend. Their team of six writers connected their stories using the following techniques:**

**Plot points**: Each of our stories were focused on the one event: the grand re-opening of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, including the preparation leading up to it (the day before), and the actual day itself. The re-opening took place on the second anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and the end of the Second Wizarding War. With a party occurring after lunch (and general merriment throughout the day for customers and friends alike), George Weasley has decided to give out free colour-changing Pygmy Puffs (based on mood) to everyone in order to help commemorate the day. All stories are happening within Diagon Alley—some within Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, some in another nearby shop.

To meet the theme, we all included confrontations between characters that would never talk to one another in a normal setting. Purple clothing is a must-wear for the attendees of the gathering. There are also mentions/signs of rainbows within the majority of stories (the weather leading up to it being contradictory to the celebratory mood that is supposed to be occurring).

Additional team bonding they did, which is very nice: They chose to use the same cover picture for their stories (designed by the talented Socks (Socrates7727) and in turned, I used it myself for my story.

**Meanings of colour purple I've used or implied, alluded or just inspired from can be found at the end of the story. I would have put them in front, however, they are very long.**

**In short: The Colour Purple/Violet Represents**

**Inspiration, Imagination, Individuality and Spirituality and Royalty.**

**Effects of the Colour Purple/Violet**

**Empathy:** Compassion, kindness and a love of humanity are positive qualities of Violet.

**Variations of the Colour Purple/Violet that I used.**

**Mauve**: Mauve fits somewhere between lavender and lilac. helps us to make the best choices and decisions; it is concerned for justice to be done and always does the right thing. On the other hand it can indicate a degree of commonness, the social climber aspiring to higher ideals.

**Amethyst**: A mystical colour, amethyst opens intuitive channels. It protects the vulnerable and assists the humanitarian. It is the colour of the evolved soul.

**Plum**: Plum is a reddish purple. An old-fashioned colour, plum is honourable and linked to family traditions. It is also prudish and narrow-minded, always preaching at you.

**Deep Purple**: Dark purple is related to higher spiritual attainment. A powerful colour, it can also indicate arrogance and ruthlessness.

Word count: 2136

**Betaed by my amazing sister:) who basically kidnapped me to write this:P and by Sophie :)**

* * *

Life is mysterious in ways we couldn't imagine, and there are paths we never thought we'd walk on. When we look upon the purple violet of the sunset, or of the dawn, we often take it for granted; we do not take a break and take in the moment. Life is full of contradictions and of things that exist even if they shouldn't, or things that exist in spite of others.

Magic is one of these things. Magic, in all its wonders, is one of the amazing things in this universe that confuses us, makes us retract statements and allows us to live in a beautiful, imaginary world.

Ghosts do live in the Wizarding World: ghosts of people who still had unresolved feelings upon this Earth, or ghosts who do not feel worthy of moving forward, who feel they deserve to be forever chained. That is how ghosts are viewed by wizards and witches.

Other types of ghosts are the ones who live inside other people, who are still alive and do not find it in themselves to forget and forgive; they're the worst types.

However, a more special type of ghost exists. These are the ghosts of the people who hadn't stayed behind, who had crossed over into a new life, but who sometimes come back and look over the people they left.

This only happens on special days or nights, in special places, and just at a certain time in their own timeline, for ghosts—spirits of the deceased—have their own lifetime, a new one. They live in the purple of the sky, the deep purple that you can find just before darkness comes. That is the Spirit World, full of those who moved forward and chose to come back.

Their "purple" world is one of wonder and magic. They cannot live in the past, but rather, the future; they live in the hopes and dreams of people who still live here on this Earth. Their life is a mystery, a mere imagination, even if they're real. Sometimes, if you close your eyes in the morning light, feeling the variations of colours that you know they are, but cannot see, you can feel them too, watching, always observing. Their tears form the rain, and they are present in the rainbows after the storm. If you look closely, you'll find them in the violet, the last colour of the rainbow.

* * *

Diagon Alley was full of people; after all, it was the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and George Weasley was reopening his shop. There were so many people, it was hard to know where to look, who to greet or what to do first.

And all these people had come for a reason, despite the fact that few of them realised it. They had all felt a need to be there on that exact date; there was no coincidence that they all had to dress in purple. _Purple_, the colour of the Spirit World, the world they were celebrating and commemorating. There was no coincidence, either, with the gift giving of the free Pygmy Puffs. George Weasley, being attuned to his brother, even in death, had felt the need to do it. Purple meant the union of body and soul, the dead and the living; however, what was more contradictory, or rather, confusing, was that spirits had no body any longer and yet, purple was their colour. The colour of royalty ruled the world beyond death, the world where queens and kings held the same value as ordinary people.

And the little pink and purple creatures were part of that world, too. They were crossovers; they could feel people's mood and change colour accordingly, just like the spirits could. They could also see them because initially, they had fallen out of the sky, between the amethyst and mauve of the sunset and the deep purple of the last ray of light. Wizards had banned them eons ago, because they knew it was dangerous to have in the human, mortal world, animals that belonged to Death. Because do not be fooled, pink and fluffy, they made youth fall in love with them, and fed upon their dreams and hopes. Unlike spirits, they take without giving it back. They're dangerous, but few had listened then and few listen now. Sometimes, they help; they can take all the bad feelings away as they cannot live when someone is down or depressed for long. Where there's evil and darkness, they need light and love, for purple is sacred, too. A place of sacredness and blessings.

The party was the perfect opportunity for many spirits of the Wizarding World to visit Diagon Alley again. On the morning of the gathering, above Gringotts, way above the alley, past the clouds and in the amethyst and lilac of the first ray of sun, a grandfather clock sat on a Purple Tower. It chimed, and the world beyond appeared.

The spirits were all dressed in different shades of purple according to their mood, be it lavender, plum, violet, or magenta. The clock was their timegate. They could only stay as long as the Tower with the grandfather clock was visible (to their eyes only, of course), and as long as its ticks could be heard across Diagon Alley. They all spread out in different directions, their eyes wide with the happiness of being free to roam for a day, at least as a beloved part of their human lives.

Out of all these spirits, there was a certain group that stood out, and among them a wizard. He was an old man, dressed in almost all shades of purple, but predominantly, he was wearing a deep purple combined with plum and mauve. He had tired eyes and a haunted face. Alongside him, but a few steps behind, there were two females: a redhead with fiery green eyes, and a ravenhead that looked as bad as he did. The others were keeping a little more distance.

"What a clash of personalities, Headmaster!" another voice said with glee. It was the voice of Fred Weasley.

The man smiled, but it was forced. "I think it's fitting, Mr. Weasley. After all, it is my fault that some of these people are here and not... there." He gestured to the people who were now starting to gather for lunch inside the shop .

"Yes, it is." The redhead female spoke for the first time since they'd heard the clock tick that morning.

"My son suffered so much because of you!" She glared at him.

She hadn't been able to fight with him before; purple was a sacred place most of all, and there was no place for arguments. The human world, however, was different.

"He could have died, even if he didn't!" Lily Potter shouted, making the sky crack with thunder, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "And what you did to Severus! You had no right to ask that of him! NO right! And I'm saying that, even if I have no right to judge you either, for I am the worst possible friend." In that moment, tears did fall, not only from her eyes, but from the eyes of her ravenhead companion as well, for she was Eileen Prince, mother of said Severus.

And so, the rain started falling over Diagon Alley.

Albus Dumbledore couldn't speak, for he agreed with his former student.

"Still," Fred continued, unbothered by the little outburst, nor the rain that was falling underneath them, "it is a curious combination."

"For my arrogance and narrow-mindedness, with which I believe I made the right decisions," Albus said. A sole tear fell from his eyes.

"Had it not been for my connection with George, I would have blamed you, too, perhaps. But that is not your fault. I know that. And yes, Harry and Severus may be your fault, but the rest of us, we did choose to stay and fight. However, now, I know. I cannot blame Percy, either, even if he… he was how he was. Look how he is now… scared, even by himself."

The Headmaster nodded, still watching the party with glassy eyes. At their little conversation, the others from their group came closer. They all wore a different shade of purple, their eyes glued to the humans at the party.

"Still, I apologise." He looked at the two women, begging for forgiveness.

The ravenhead took her gaze from the party and rounded on him. "You apologise! You almost killed my son with your scheming, and he is suffering now, too. He is still being treated as a criminal for killing you!" Eileen gestured to Neville Longbottom, who had just called out Snape for being at the party commemorating the war. "And you apologise!" The mother was in tears, feeling her son's pain.

The rain fell even harder.

Albus wanted to run and tell the former Gryffindor that it hadn't been Severus' fault, but he couldn't. The Spirit World could not interact with the humans. He settled instead on making the Pygmy Puffs take their pain and hatred away so they could have a normal conversation. Maybe they'd find closure on their own.

A hand on Eileen's shoulder stopped her from crying any longer. Frank Longbottom was looking at her, sympathy in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," was all he said, but it was enough to make tears appear again.

She hugged him, and together, they watched how their sons solved their problems after all.

"Well, good to know that all is well," Fred murmured. "Come, Lavender, let's go and find George," he told the girl, who had been watching Parvati like a hawk and tearing up when she'd heard her speaking with Hermione.

"I feel alone without her," she whispered, giving her best friend one last look before skipping off with the redhead. They had reached an understanding in their "Purple World"; both were separated from the people who knew them best.

Diagon Alley was beautiful, even from the air. It was full of life—something they didn't have any longer, and yet, it touched them.

Lavender turned and smiled at her Headmaster, who looked at her appreciatively. Colin followed her and Fred, while Remus, Tonks, and Ted were trying to find Andromeda and Teddy.

Albus remained alone with the two mothers and Sirius Black, who was so captivated by his godson that he hadn't seen anything else in all the Alley but him.

But then, he spoke, in a chilling, cold voice.

"Harry just made friends with Malfoy. And he now respects Snape. If he could do that, after everything, so can I. Nevertheless, Headmaster, do take heed; I would have done everything in my power to stop you, had I been free."

"But you weren't, were you?" Lily cried, upset all over again.

"I wasn't, Lily," he murmured. Then, continuing to talk with Albus, he said, "So I cannot blame you. Do not blame yourself. Let it be just purple. You're here; you moved forward."

"And look, Severus will be alright too." He pointed to the man who, in that time, had moved on from Neville and just finished speaking with Minerva McGonagall. "He's going back to Hogwarts, after all. Plus, we may manage to couple him too!"

Eileen looked hopefully at the former Black heir.

"With who?"

Sirius shared an amused glance with Lily.

"We'd been observing them ever since the battle. I know you did, too. Have you not seen someone who likes to spend time with him, who is his friend, though more in secret than it should be? Someone who is the one who actually convinced him to come, although Draco did play a role? Who came alone and left to meet with him afterwards?" Now, Sirius was smirking at the gaping face of both Eileen and Albus Dumbledore, who were both convinced the man had lost his mind.

"Hermione Granger?"

The cry was heard by all the spirits, and all laughed out loud after hearing it.

After a few moments of thinking, they decided it to leave it to fate. Time would tell.

But at least, now, the Headmaster had just purple clothes on, and was smiling happily at the beautiful party.

* * *

And speaking of time, the old grandfather clock was still ticking, but its beats were sparse, and the time was upon the spirits to go back. The evening was close and so was the sunset. The tears had been shed, and our spirits could see that their families and friends were safe and they were going to be happy. So they had smiled, and a beautiful rainbow appeared. After every storm, there is sunshine.

And as sunset came, all the spirits left, losing themselves in the last ray of purple, turning the sky a brilliant shade of blue in their absence.

* * *

**Author note number two: Promised Colour Purple meanings that I used, inspired and alluded to.**

Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. The colour purple is often associated with royalty, power, and ambition. Purple also represents meanings of wealth, creativity, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic.

The colour purple is a rare occurring colour in nature and as a result is often seen as having sacred meaning. Lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are considered delicate and precious.

The colour purple has a variety of effects on the mind and body, including uplifting spirits, calming the mind and nerves, enhancing the sacred, creating feelings of spirituality, increasing nurturing tendencies and sensitivity, and encouraging imagination and creativity.

Purple is associated spirituality, the sacred, higher self, passion, third eye, fulfilment, and vitality. Purple helps align oneself with the whole of the universe. Different shades, tints, and hues of purple have different meanings. Light purple hues represent feminine energy and delicacy, as well as romantic and nostalgic feelings. Dark purple hues evoke feelings of gloom, sadness, and frustration. Bright purple hues suggest riches and royalty.

Light purple or lavender is a feminine, graceful, elegant colour that has long been associated with refined, wealthy women. While the colour purple represents royalty, lavender represents beauty and femininity. Lavender is considered to be the "grown-up" pink. Its lighter lavender shades have a sacred place in nature, with lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers considered delicate and precious. The colour lavender suggests uniqueness and specialness without the deep mystery of the colour purple.

Additional words that represent different shades, tints, and values of the colour purple: violet, plum, lavender, lilac, puce, thistle, orchid, mauve, magenta, royal, amethyst, wine, pomegranate, eggplant, mulberry, plum, lilac, thistle, orchid, mauve, purple.

Purple is the colour of the imagination and spirituality!

The colour purple relates to the imagination and spirituality. It stimulates the imagination and inspires high ideals. It is an introspective colour, allowing us to get in touch with our deeper thoughts.

The difference between violet and purple is that violet appears in the visible light spectrum, or rainbow, whereas purple is simply a mix of red and blue. Violet has the highest vibration in the visible spectrum.

While the violet is not quite as intense as purple, its essence is similar. Generally the names are interchangeable and the meaning of the colours is similar. Both contain the energy and strength of red with the spirituality and integrity of blue. This is the union of body and soul, creating a balance between our physical and our spiritual energies.

Purple or violet assists those who seek the meaning of life and spiritual fulfilment - it expands our awareness, connecting us to a higher consciousness. For this reason it is associated with transformation of the soul and the philosophers of the world are often attracted to it.

In the meaning of colours, purple and violet represent the future, the imagination and dreams, while spiritually calming the emotions. They inspire and enhance psychic ability and spiritual enlightenment, while, at the same time, keeping us grounded.

The colour violet relates to the fantasy world, and a need to escape from the practicalities of life. It is the daydreamer escaping from reality.

From a colour psychology perspective, purple and violet promote harmony of the mind and the emotions, contributing to mental balance and stability, peace of mind, a link between the spiritual and the physical worlds, between thought and activity. Violet and purple support the practice of meditation.

The colour violet/purple inspires unconditional and selfless love, devoid of ego, encouraging sensitivity and compassion. Violet/Purple can be sensitive to all the different forms of pollution in the world today, whether it be air pollution, noise pollution, visual pollution or the pollution in our food chain. It is the colour of the humanitarian, using its better judgement to do good for others.


End file.
